Owning the Words: Your DRM Policy Matters More Than You Think

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Digital Rights Management (DRM) has always been a bit of a lightning rod in publishing: praised as a shield against piracy, blamed for frustrating paying readers, and quietly handled as a default checkbox in most publishing dashboards.

But that quiet checkbox is becoming a much louder decision.

As more authors sell directly and major retailers (including Amazon) experiment with more flexible file downloads and looser restrictions for DRM‑free titles, the old “just leave the default on” approach is no longer neutral. Your DRM choice now shapes how, where, and even whether your readers can truly use the books they’ve bought from you.

In this article, we’ll walk through:

  • What DRM is and how it works in practice
  • The real‑world pros and cons for authors
  • How DRM affects reader experience, accessibility, and long‑term ownership
  • When it may still make sense to keep DRM (and when it’s holding you back)

If you’ve ever hovered over the “Apply Digital Rights Management?” option and guessed, this is your chance to make that choice with a clear view of the trade‑offs.

What Your DRM Choice Really Means for Readers

Whether you publish through Amazon, another major retailer, or your own site, choosing to enable or disable DRM is no longer just an abstract stance on “piracy.” It has direct, practical consequences for how your readers can use the books they buy from you.

In broad strokes, here’s what that choice usually looks like in practice:

  • DRM‑free = more reader flexibility
     When readers can access standard formats (like EPUB or PDF), it often means:
    • Easier reading on non‑proprietary devices and apps.
    • Better compatibility with note‑taking tools, research software, and some accessibility tools.
    • A stronger sense of ownership, goodwill, and perceived value.
  • DRM‑on = tighter control, less flexibility
     When a retailer or platform applies DRM, it typically means:
    • Readers are tied to that platform’s ecosystem and apps.
    • You maintain the traditional “locked” digital experience.
    • You reduce casual file‑sharing, but at the cost of convenience for legitimate buyers.

On many platforms you can now revisit and change your DRM settings later, but each change affects not just future buyers; often it impacts how past purchasers can access your book as well. 

In other words, DRM is a technical switch with long‑tail consequences for your entire readership, not just a one‑time checkbox at upload.

Let’s look at the Pros & Cons of using DRM, and how those decisions will impact Amazon (one of the largest retailers) as well as independent authors (especially if they sell direct.)

Benefits of Using DRM (Even After This Change)

Let’s start with why some authors and publishers will still choose DRM.

1. A speed bump against casual file sharing

DRM won’t stop determined pirates who know how to strip it. But it does:

  • Make it harder for average readers to simply email your book’s file to dozens of friends.
  • Raise the barrier for casual mass-sharing (e.g., one teacher buying a single copy and distributing to an entire class).

In other words, DRM is less a fortress and more a speed bump: it may reduce low-effort unauthorized sharing.

Amazon angle:
If a big portion of your audience is non-technical and might otherwise treat a PDF like a photocopy, DRM may slightly reduce this kind of frictionless sharing, which is a win for them because it helps to keep your book locked to Amazon.

Author angle:
Your real leverage against lost sales is usually reach, price, and reader enthusiasm; not technical locks. A little extra casual sharing can behave like free sampling and word-of-mouth, especially early in your career, while DRM risks making the paying experience just annoying enough to push readers elsewhere.

2. Comfort for risk-averse stakeholders

If you:

  • Are publishing with a traditional house that still prefers DRM, or
  • Have agents, licensors, or co-authors who are nervous about piracy,

DRM can be a political tool as much as a technical one: something you can point to as “protection.”

Amazon angle:
Being able to toggle DRM later gives you room to reassure stakeholders now (“We’ll start with DRM on”) and revisit the decision once you have real data and experience.

Author angle:
You can often reframe the conversation with stakeholders from “Are we protected?” to “Are we easy to buy, read, and recommend?” Showing them how DRM-free titles can increase reviews, completion rates, and long-term accessibility may earn you more flexibility than simply accepting DRM as the “safe” default.

3. Some control over how the file travels

DRM:

  • Limits where and how the file can be used.
  • Reduces the ease of large-scale redistribution from a single purchased copy.

If your content has high commercial sensitivity (e.g., premium training materials, expensive textbooks) and you feel that easily portable EPUB/PDF files would strongly incentivize mass unauthorized sharing, you may accept the trade-off of less reader convenience.

Amazon angle:
Opting for DRM means consciously choosing platform lock-in over portability. That might align with your strategy if you’re relying heavily on Kindle exclusivity or if your content is priced and positioned as high-ticket.

Author angle:
Locking readers to a single retailer can quietly cap your growth: it makes format shifts, device changes, library donations, and institutional adoption harder. Portability makes your books more resilient over time, and more likely to stay in active use as people, platforms, and devices change.

Cons of Using DRM (Now More Significant Than Before)

The new policy makes every DRM decision more consequential, because turning DRM on now blocks benefits that are increasingly valuable to readers.

1. It doesn’t stop serious piracy; it hurts legitimate readers

Practically speaking:

  • DRM is routinely broken by pirates and removed from files that then circulate online.
  • People who never intended to pay will still find ways not to pay.
  • People who did pay are the ones who face the pain: limited devices, fragile access, and no clean local backups.

Amazon angle:
With EPUB/PDF on the table, the cost to your honest readers for choosing DRM is now much higher:

  • They can’t easily move your book into their preferred reading ecosystem if it’s outside Kindle.
  • They lose the ability to save a proper copy in a standard format for long-term use.

The result: DRM increasingly feels like punishing paying customers for other people’s behavior.

Author angle:
Every extra hoop you make legitimate buyers jump through increases the odds they’ll abandon your book, delay reading it, or think twice before buying the next one. If pirates will get a clean file anyway, it often makes more business sense to optimize for the people who actually pay you.

2. You miss out on reader goodwill and perception of value

Many readers (not just highly technical ones) are becoming more aware of ownership issues:

  • They understand that a locked, DRM‑only Kindle purchase can vanish if an account is closed, a region changes, or a platform policy shifts. (Amazon has been known to revoke access to media in the past!)
  • They associate DRM-free books with true ownership and long-term access.

Offering EPUB/PDF downloads:

  • Signals trust: “I trust you with a real file.”
  • Increases perceived value: “I get multiple formats for the same price.”
  • Encourages word-of-mouth from readers who appreciate that freedom.

Amazon angle:
Now that DRM-free equals “can download EPUB/PDF,” you have a concrete value-add to offer: “buy my book on Kindle and you actually get a portable file, not just a license on one platform.”

Author angle:
Positioning your work as something readers truly own (and can back up, annotate, and carry across devices) can become part of your brand. Over time, “this author’s books are always DRM-free and usable anywhere” can differentiate you in a crowded market and increase loyalty across your entire catalog.

3. Platform lock-in becomes your problem, not just the reader’s

With DRM on:

  • Your readers are locked to Kindle reading apps and devices.
  • If they move to another ecosystem (Kobo, Apple Books, Boox, etc.), your book doesn’t move with them easily.
  • Some readers will avoid Kindle purchases entirely if they’re known to be DRM-locked.

With DRM off:

  • Your book can ride along with your reader when they shift devices or ecosystems.
  • You reduce the fear that “if I buy it on Amazon, I’m stuck there forever.”

Amazon angle:
This shift subtly changes your relationship with Amazon: you’re no longer only selling Kindle-locked content; you can be selling portable ebooks via Amazon’s storefront. That can make Amazon feel less like a silo and more like a distribution channel for files your readers truly own.

Author angle:
Treating Amazon as one sales channel among many rather than as the ecosystem that owns your readers strengthens your long-term career. When your books are portable, it’s easier to direct readers to your newsletter, website, or other retailers because they don’t feel trapped by where they first bought your work.

4. Accessibility, research, and professional use are easier without DRM

DRM can interfere with:

  • Some screen readers or assistive tools, depending on how they integrate.
  • Copy-paste for research and quotation (important for nonfiction readers, students, and academics).
  • Integration with note-taking and reference managers that depend on open formats.

EPUB/PDF downloads (from a DRM-free purchase) allow:

  • Easier use in accessibility workflows.
  • Inclusion in personal research libraries.
  • Highlighting, annotating, and referencing across tools.

Amazon angle:
If you write non-fiction, educational content, technical books, or anything with a study/annotation use-case, DRM-free plus EPUB/PDF is a very strong selling point.

Author angle:
Making your book easy to search, quote, cite, and integrate into workflows earns you disproportionate influence with librarians, teachers, trainers, and subject-matter experts. Those are the people who recommend books in bulk, and they’re far more likely to champion titles that don’t fight their tools.

5. You risk alienating your best marketers

The people most likely to recommend your work are often the ones most aware of DRM issues:

  • Librarians, educators, academics.
  • Tech-savvy readers.
  • Heavy ebook users who value control over their collections.

DRM may lead them to:

  • Avoid your Kindle edition.
  • Recommend alternatives that are DRM-free instead.
  • Be more reluctant to invest in your entire backlist if they perceive it as locked down.

Amazon angle:
Now that you can align with these readers simply by choosing “No, do not apply DRM,” you gain an easy way to win trust without changing your price, content, or marketing and you are no longer stuck with a choice you may have made years ago for an individual book.

Author angle:
Your most vocal advocates tend to be power users: heavy readers, librarians, educators, and tech-savvy fans. Signaling that you respect their need for open, durable files costs you nothing but can turn them into long-term evangelists for your work and your overall stance on reader-friendly publishing.

Choosing DRM Based on What You Write (and Who You Write For)

The right choice will depend heavily on what you write and who you write for. Here are a few common scenarios.

Scenario 1: Indie fiction author building a readership

  • Goal: Maximize readership, reviews, and series sell-through.
  • Audience: General readers, many reading on multiple devices/apps.

DRM choice: Strong case for DRM-free.

Why:

  • Your main enemy is obscurity, not piracy.
  • Making it easier for people to read your books where and how they want boosts completion and series continuation.
  • Goodwill and ease-of-use can translate into more reviews and recommendations.

Scenario 2: Nonfiction / business / self-help with a long tail

  • Goal: Sell steadily over years; be used in courses, teams, and professional settings.
  • Audience: Professionals, entrepreneurs, students, coaches, consultants.

DRM choice: Often DRM-free, unless a stakeholder demands DRM.

Why:

  • Your readers may want to annotate in Obsidian, Notion, reference managers, or PDF tools.
  • Portability and longevity increase trust, especially for premium-priced nonfiction.
  • You can still encourage institutional licenses or bulk purchases while allowing individuals to own usable files.

Scenario 3: High-priced educational / course companion content

  • Goal: Protect perceived value of premium content; limit mass free-sharing.
  • Audience: Students enrolled in a course, training program, or certification.

DRM choice: This is the edge case where DRM-on may be justified, or at least where you might experiment.

Why:

  • The incentive to share a single PDF with an entire cohort is high.
  • Your revenue model may depend on keeping the material tied to paying participants.

Even here, consider middle-ground options like:

  • Keeping DRM-off for the core book but selling higher-value resources (workbooks, videos, templates) through another system.
  • Using watermarking instead of DRM to discourage casual sharing.

Scenario 4: Hybrid or traditionally published authors

If your publisher controls the KDP account:

  • They will likely make this decision, at least initially, based on house policy.
  • But Amazon’s change may give you leverage to ask: “Can we test DRM-free on at least some titles or regions?”

If you control certain editions (e.g., self-published backlist, translations, special editions):

  • Those versions are excellent candidates for DRM-free experimentation, especially if you want to cultivate a direct relationship with readers.

Practical Steps: How to Decide What to Do

Here’s a streamlined process you might follow while looking over your back catalog and planning future books:

1. Audit your catalogue

For each title, ask:

  • Is this mostly read for entertainment or for study/professional use?
  • Would readers strongly benefit from being able to download this book in standard formats for any device or app?
  • Am I more worried about piracy, or more focused on reach and goodwill?

2. Group your titles by strategy

For example:

  • Group A (most fiction, general non-fiction): Go DRM-free.
  • Group B (sensitive/high-priced content): Start with DRM-on; reassess after 6–12 months of sales data.
  • Group C (publisher-controlled editions): Note for later discussion/negotiation.

3. Communicate with your readers

If you decide to go DRM-free:

  • Mention it in your newsletter, on your website, and on social media.
  • Let readers know where they can get your books without DRM and, where applicable, how to download them in EPUB or PDF from their retailer account.
  • Consider updating your book description or FAQ with a short note about ownership and flexibility.

If you keep DRM on:

  • Consider explaining briefly why (e.g., for course materials, licensed content, or institutional use) and offer alternative ways to access or license the content fairly.

A Balanced Way to Think About It

Recent changes at major retailers around DRM and downloadable formats don’t make DRM good or bad in some absolute sense, but they do sharpen the trade‑offs:

  • DRM-on generally means:
    • Slightly more friction for casual file-sharing.
    • Limited or no access to open formats (like EPUB/PDF) from the retailer.
    • Less flexibility and long-term ownership for honest buyers.
    • Higher risk of reader frustration or avoidance by DRM-conscious readers.
  • DRM-off generally means:
    • Readers can download and keep a portable copy in standard formats.
    • Easier accessibility, research use, and cross-device reading.
    • A stronger signal of trust and goodwill.
    • Some increased ease of casual sharing, but little real effect on serious piracy.

For most trade authors, especially indie fiction and general non-fiction, the balance increasingly favors going DRM-free and embracing open downloads as a way to deepen reader trust and expand usability.

For a minority of use cases (high-priced, tightly controlled educational or corporate content), DRM may still be a deliberate, defensible choice. But as more platforms allow you to adjust DRM settings over time, it’s now a choice you can revisit, test, and tailor title by title instead of a one-way, permanent decision.

If you have listened to us speak on this subject at all for the past decade or even longer, you’ll know that we are not fans of DRM and would generally recommend against it barring specific and individual circumstances. 

But, if you are having trouble wrapping your head around what would work best for you, and you’d like us to help you decide, open up a support ticket with us with information about your books and we can add you onto our next Hot Seats live training.

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